From nobody in Bihar to an established actor on the silver screen, Pankaj Tripathi has carved out a reputation for himself as a rising star in the Bollywood industry. Pankaj has put in a great deal of effort behind his now rising career.
He announced his arrival on 5 September 1976 in Belsand, a village in Gopalganj District, Bihar. He was born to Pandit Banaras Tripathi and Hemwanti Devi and is the youngest of their five children. His father plies his trade as a farmer and priest.
How many of you all know that Tripathi also worked as a farmer until he was Class XI at school. During festivals, he used to portray the role of a girl in his village’s natak. He earned massive praise from the villagers and it was when he made up his mind to make a career out of acting.
After years of hard work in his acting career, he has got himself a luxurious home in Madh Island. However, he hasn’t forgotten the struggles he went through when he lived in his one-room shed with its tin roof in Patna.
“My wife Mridula and I own our dream house. But I haven’t forgotten my one-room shed with its tin roof in Patna. One night, the rains and wind were so intense that one of the tin sheets blew away and I was left looking at the naked sky,” he recounted according to idiva.
“It was our dream home, a love nest at the seaside. Now I’ve finally bought our dream house in Madh Island. My wife got very emotional after we shifted into our new home,” said the Criminal Justice actor Pankaj.
Pankaj also credited his success in Hindi films to his wife, and other women who motivated him through and through in his life. He said, “Mridula and I survived on her income in Mumbai. She was a qualified school teacher and she got a job in Mumbai while I did what all out-of-town actors in Mumbai do… Struggle.
My first major role was in ‘Dharm’ in 2007 where I got to work with my namesake, the great Pankaj Kapur. It is significant that my first major role came to me from a woman director. Women have always played a very important part in my career.
Besides my wife Mridula, I can’t thank the great acting luminaries like Anamika Tiwari and Anuradha Kapoor enough. They encouraged me and gave me hope as an actor.”